Want to see what No. 3 pick Lackey brings to the diamond? Check out his High-A debut
This browser does not support the video element.
Vahn Lackey has played baseball nearly all over the country since his season began with Georgia Tech back on Feb. 13. He donned new threads once again Tuesday night after earning the first promotion of his Minor League tenure. And he made sure his first contest at home in Iowa with High-A Cedar Rapids was one to remember.
On a night in which there were 37 combined runs -- the Kernels' 19-18 loss to Lake County -- and more than four hours of baseball at Veterans Memorial Stadium, the Twins’ No. 2 prospect was the star of the show. Lackey collected a host of High-A firsts, including roundtripper No. 1 on a three-hit, three-RBI night in which he reached base five times and even swiped a bag.
The No. 3 overall pick in the 2026 Draft got things going right out of the chute, knocking a single in his first trip to the dish off righty Aidan Major (Guardians) in the first. He stole second on the first pitch of the next at-bat, giving him six steals on seven attempts through his first 16 pro games.
Lackey strode to the dish in the third, and after watching the first offering bounce in front of the plate, unleashed a wallop on an elevated fastball and drove it over the left-field fence. His second pro homer came four days after his first, a memorable roundtripper particularly since he knew exactly who was getting that baseball right away.
"My dad has been there for me throughout my whole baseball journey, so I feel like I gotta give it to him," Lackey said on Friday.
In the topsy-turvy, scoreboard-popping innings to come, Lackey drew a pair of walks. That was par for the course during his 15-game spin through the Florida State League, as he posted a .389 on-base percentage with 14 walks (and three plunkings). The sometimes erratic nature of Single-A hurlers can be difficult to hone in on, especially for advanced college hitters such as Lackey coming from top-flight programs.
But getting MLB’s No. 19 prospect to appear on a circuit with Statcast data did provide a little look under the hood. Lackey’s max exit velo was 109.4 mph over his time with Fort Myers, and he posted three sprint speed runs above 28 ft/sec, putting him in near-elite range. He also impressed behind the dish as his top pop time on a throw down to second of 1.78 seconds would tie for the 27th-quickest in the Majors this season.
Lackey is the only ranked catching prospect with a 60-grade hit, power and throwing arm.
But as he showed Tuesday, there's also an unquantifiable element to his game. With Cedar Rapids battling back in the eighth, MLB’s No. 2 catching prospect worked a six-pitch at-bat before delivering a clutch go-ahead two-RBI single off southpaw Melkis Hernández. The three hits and three RBIs were career highs at this early stage of Lackey’s pro journey.
Just over a month ago Lackey was getting the grand tour of Target Field, the place he hopes is his future baseball home after the organization made him its first catcher selected with a first-round pick since Joe Mauer in 2001. Having won the Johnny Bench Award this spring (given to college baseball’s top catcher) and been a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award, Lackey is continuing to stack firsts.
“I feel like I’m an exciting player," he said last month. "I feel like I bring a lot to the table and I feel like if you come to watch me play, you’re going to keep wanting to come watch me play.”